


Crowskin

by Gray_Days



Series: Children of Pallas [5]
Category: JLA: Syndicate Rules, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Genre: Australian magpies, Earth-3, Gen, Mirror Universe, Owlman is a bird whisperer, animal cruelty mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 16:04:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18524905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gray_Days/pseuds/Gray_Days
Summary: “So…so you can communicate with birds, then,” said Johnny. “That’s cool.”





	Crowskin

_“What,”_ uttered Johnny Quick, “the _fuck.”_

The magpie dangling from Owlman’s fist had an expression in its mad orange eyes that said that whatever it had planned for its life today, this in no way resembled it. It made a cursory attempt to right itself, scrabbling against the clawed grip around its legs with discordant caw and a flurry of wings, but gave up and went limp when Owlman gave it a sharp shake, knocking it off-balance. The flock perched in the nearby trees, eaves, and power lines mantled and muttered awkwardly, as if trying not to admit that they didn’t know quite what to do about this whole situation.

“Social birds like these are very intelligent,” Owlman said. “You might even consider them smarter than most humans, since they identify threats to their territory on sight and attack them preemptively.” Johnny did a double take to confirm that, yes, Owlman had just taken some sort of meal bar out of his utility belt and torn the foil open with his teeth, and was now feeding fragments of it to the hellbird in bite-sized morsels. It seemed much more copacetic with the situation as a result, and seemed to have accepted that this was its life from this point onward. “They even use mob tactics to distract their targets and create openings to attack. Even you should know better than to antagonise them.”

“Okay, first of all,” retorted Johnny after an entire millisecond of gaping, “these things are evil bastards and I’m doin’ the world a service by exterminating them. Second of all, and I repeat: what the _fuck?”_

“You’ll have to be more precise than that.” Owlman had a small grin on his face as he watched the bird attempt to lunge for the meal bar, pulling it out of reach until his captive settled down into docility again.

“I mean—” Johnny gestured emphatically. “How’d you _do_ that? Catch it straight out of the air like that?”

“Did you know that great horned owls are some of the world’s most effective and fearless predators? They’ll hunt and eat practically anything, up to and including foxes and other owls.” Owlman looked back up at Johnny with an intimidating intensity. “I know how birds work.”

“So…so you can communicate with birds, then,” Johnny said helplessly. “That’s cool.”

“You could say that.” Apparently the magpie had proven its obedience enough for Owlman to turn it upright, though he still kept its legs trapped between his fingers. Johnny couldn’t help but notice that the surrounding flock had gradually shuffled closer, giving the impression of being looked down upon by a colosseum of vicious beaks.

“I thought you could just read minds. And that the owl thing was just, like, to freak people out with.”

“You need to find better informants.”

Johnny was forced to concede the point. This seemed like something that would have come up before. “So you keep owls, too, then?”

“No.” The magpie’s eagerness seemed to be mostly satiated by now, and it had decided to squat on Owlman’s fist in a ball of satisfied feathers. Owlman pulled the rest of the foil off the meal bar and crumbled it up in his other hand to scatter over the ground. After the minimum possible interval to pretend they were above such bribery, the flock pounced, causing Johnny to flinch back behind the other Syndicate head. A nearby magpie raised its wings to scream at him before running into the squabbling fray.

Owlman smirked, running a finger down along the back of his new friend’s head and eliciting a sound like a rusty door hinge. “Maybe you should move. Then again, I can’t imagine you’ll fare much better elsewhere if you intend to decimate the local wildlife population there as well.” He released the magpie, which sailed down to join the rest of the flock on the ground, strutting about like a returning hero.

“Okay, that’s _none a’ your business,_ so fuck y— _nnnnnghh!”_

Owlman stood over Johnny as he twitched on the ground. “What do you say?”

“Sorry,” gasped Johnny, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it—”

“Good boy.” Owlman took his hand off the controller for Johnny’s super-suit and moved away, the crowd of birds parting in front of him like adoring disciples. “Come on. I came here for a reason, and that wasn’t to rescue you from your own incompetence.”

“Right, yeah, give me a sec…” Johnny pushed himself laboriously up to his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath. His face felt wet. His pants, too. _Damn_ it.

A magpie laughed at him.

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from _The Hollow Men_ by T.S. Eliot.
> 
> If you enjoyed this, consider checking out [my other work in this universe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gray_Days/works?fandom_id=390)! Feedback and constructive criticism sustain me and inspire me to write more.


End file.
